Curt Schilling pitches $8M home on real estate market

Peter Reuell

Friday

Mar 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 28, 2008 at 12:44 PM

Sure, he can mow down Yankee batters on a surgically-repaired ankle on the way to the Red Sox's first World Series win in nearly a century, but can Curt Schilling pull off a real miracle - selling a multi-million dollar home in a depressed real estate market?

Sure, he can mow down Yankee batters on a surgically-repaired ankle on the way to the Red Sox's first World Series win in nearly a century, but can Curt Schilling pull off a real miracle - selling a multi-million dollar home in a depressed real estate market?

Despite a dreary market, experts say it's likely the home will sell, though perhaps not right away.

``If you've got the money to buy an $8 million house, you probably had it last year, you probably had it the year before, and you'll probably have it the next year, too,'' said Vincent Valvo, group publisher of the Warren Group, the publisher of Banker and Tradesman. ``Your means may fluctuate a little bit, but it's not going to knock you out of the million-dollar home club.''

While the state doesn't have a shortage of million-dollar homes, Valvo put Schilling's 7 Woodbridge Road home in a different category, and not only because of its price.

``When you get up over $5 million, it would not be unlikely this might sit there for even a year, because you've got to find the right buyer,'' he said. ``It's very similar to selling a big piece of commercial property.''

The simple fact, he said, is Schilling's seven-bedroom, six-full-bathroom, two-half-bath-home is one-of-a-kind, and simply not within reach of just any buyer.

``These are unique properties,'' he said. ``The issue that always happens on any property priced that high is you've got to find the right buyer at the right time.

``It's not like you're looking at a standard four-bedroom colonial, and they're asking for $20,000 more than you want to spend, so you can find another four-bedroom colonial a few streets over.''

Despite that, John Ranco, director of sales at Gibson Sotheby's International Realty in Boston, was sure the property would find a buyer.

``It will, absolutely,'' he said. ``The higher-end market continues to sell pretty well. We are seeing those types of houses and those types of listings trade pretty well, even with all the bad news.''

And then there's always the star factor.

Built in 1998, the home's first owner was then-Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who sold the home to Schilling after he was traded.

With Schilling's name attached to the property, however, Valvo was confident it would get more than a few second looks.

``If it was the home of some high-powered business executive, it might have a little (cache),'' Valvo said. ``But the people buying (those places) are probably high-powered business executives. But it's Curt Schilling!''

Peter Reuell can be reached at 508-626-4428, or at preuell@cnc.com.

MetroWest Daily News

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